The Dixons specialize in historic marbling, particularly 18 century and early-mid 19th century papers. They utilize the water color pigments and techniques that were in use from the introduction of paper marbling in Europe in the 16th century through the 19th century.

During this special event we invite you to bring your one or two of your own examples of historic marbled papers– we all have interesting papers in or on bindings that are either typical or unusual. The Dixons will devote some time to examine and discuss the papers you bring and hopefully we will all learn from the sharing.

In addition, Garrett says he will “discuss the history, patterns, and fabrication techniques for the group of what I refer to as chemically-altered patterns of marbled paper: Stormont, Shell, Broken, Romantic, Schroetel, Tiger eye. These patterns all involve the use of chemical additives to the watercolor paint in order to achieve their effect. These patterns were popular from the end of the 18th century through the 19th century. We will show examples of the patterns, both original and our reproductions, and discuss some of the difficulties encountered in trying to decipher the old recipes.”

There will be a wide selection of papers on hand to peruse, and samples available for purchase.

This presentation is free and open to the public. Directions available at nbss.edu.